Representation of People act

1. Short title.—This Act may be called the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
2. Interpretation.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(b) “appropriate authority” means, in relation to an election to the House of the People or the Council of States , the Central Government, and in relation to an election to the Legislative Assembly or the Legislative Council of a State, the State Government;
(d) “election” means an election to fill a seat or seats in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature of a State other than the State of Jammu and Kashmir ;
(e) “elector” in relation to a constituency means a person whose name is entered in the electoral roll of that constituency for the time being in force and who is not subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950;
(f) “political party” means an association or a body of individual citizens of India registered with the Election Commission as a political party under section 29A;

Qualifications for Membership of Parliament.
Qualification for membership of the Council of States.—A person shall not be qualified to be chosen as a representative of any State or Union territory in the Council of States unless he is an elector for a Parliamentary constituency in India.
4. Qualifications for membership of the House of the People.—A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the House of the People , unless—
(a) in the case of a seat reserved for the Scheduled Castes in any State, he is a member of any of the Scheduled Castes, whether of that State or of any other State, and is an elector for any Parliamentary constituency;
(b) in the case of a seat reserved for the Scheduled Tribes in any State (other than those in the autonomous districts of Assam), he is a member of any of the Scheduled Tribes, whether of that State or of any other State (excluding the tribal areas of Assam), and is an elector for any Parliamentary constituency;
(d) in the case of any other seat, he is an elector for any Parliamentary constituency.
5. Qualifications for membership of a Legislative Assembly.—A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Legislative Assembly of a State unless—
(a) in the case of a seat reserved for the Scheduled Castes or for the Scheduled Tribes of that State, he is a member of any of those castes or of those tribes, as the case may be, and is an elector for any Assembly constituency in that State;
(b) in the case of a seat reserved for an autonomous district of Assam, he is a member of a Scheduled Tribe of any autonomous district and is an elector for the Assembly constituency in which such seat or any other seat is reserved for that district; and
(c) in the case of any other seat, he is an elector for any Assembly constituency in that State:
6. Qualification for membership of a Legislative Council.—(1) A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Legislative Council of a State to be filled by election unless he is an elector for any Assembly constituency in that State.
(2) A person shall not be qualified to be chosen to fill a seat in the Legislative Council of a State to be filled by nomination by the Governor unless he is ordinarily resident in the State.

8. Disqualification on conviction for certain offences. —
(1) A person convicted of an offence punishable under—
(a) section 153 A (offence of promoting enmity between different groups on ground of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) or section 171E (offence of bribery) or section 171F (offence of undue influence or personation at an election) or section 376 or section 376A or section 376B or section 376C or section 376D (offences relating to rape) or section 498A (offence of cruelty towards a woman by husband or relative of a husband)
(offence of making statement creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes or offence relating to such statement in any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies) of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860); or
(b) the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 (22 of 1955) which provides for punishment for the preaching and practice of “untouchability”, and for the enforcement of any disability arising therefrom; or
(c) section 11 (offence of importing or exporting prohibited goods) of the Customs Act, 1962 (52 of 1962); or
(d) sections 10 to 12 (offence of being a member of an association declared unlawful, offence relating to dealing with funds of an unlawful association or offence relating to contravention of an order made in respect of a notified place) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967); or
(e) the Foreign Exchange (Regulation) Act, 1973 (46 of 1973); or
(f) the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (61 of 1985); or
(g) (offence of committing terrorist acts) (offence of committing disruptive activities) of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, 1987 (28 of 1987); or
(h) (offence of contravention of the provisions of sections 3 to 6) of the Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act, 1988 (41 of 1988); or
(i) section 125 (offence of promoting enmity between classes in connection with the election) or section 135 (offence of removal of ballot papers from polling stations) or section 135A (offence of booth capturing) of clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 136 (offence of fraudulently defacing or fraudulently destroying any nomination paper) of this Act; or
(j) (offence of conversion of a place of worship) of the Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act, 1991 or
(k) (offence of insulting the Indian National Flag or the Constitution of India) or (offence of preventing singing of National Anthem) of the Prevention of Insults to National Honour Act, 1971 (69 of 1971),
(l) the Comission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 (3 of 1988); or
(m) the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (49 of 1988); or
(n) the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (15 of 2002),

shall be disqualified, where the convicted person is sentenced to—
(i) only fine, for a period of six years from the date of such conviction;
(ii) imprisonment, from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.
(2) A person convicted for the contravention of—
(a) any law providing for the prevention of hoarding or profiteering; or
(b) any law relating to the adulteration of food or drugs; or
(c) any provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961)
(3) A person convicted of any offence and sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years other than any offence referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.
“law providing for the prevention of hoarding or profiteering” means any law, or any order, rule or notification having the force of law, providing for—
(i) the regulation of production or manufacture of any essential commodity;
(ii) the control of price at which any essential commodity may be bought or sold;
(iii) the regulation of acquisition, possession, storage, transport, distribution, disposal, use or consumption of any essential commodity;
(iv) the prohibition of the withholding from sale of any essential commodity ordinarily kept for sale;
8A. Disqualification on ground of corrupt practices.—(1) The case of every person found guilty of a corrupt practice shall be submitted, as soon as may be, after such order takes effect, by such authority as the Central Government may specify in this behalf, to the President for determination of the question as to whether such person shall be disqualified and if so, for what period:
Provided that the period for which any person may be disqualified shall in no case exceed six years from the date on which the order made in relation to him takes effect.
(2) Any person who stands disqualified as it stood immediately before the commencement of the Election Laws, may, if the period of such disqualification has not expired, submit a petition to the President for the removal of such disqualification for the unexpired portion of the said period.
(2), the President shall obtain the opinion of the Election Commission on such question or petition and shall act according to such opinion.
9. Disqualification for dismissal for corruption or disloyalty. —(1) A person who having held an office under the Government of India or under the Government of any State has been dismissed for corruption or for disloyalty to the State shall be disqualified for a period of five years from the date of such dismissal.
(2), a certificate issued by the Election Commission to the effect that a person having held office under the Government of India or under the Government of a State, has or has not been dismissed for corruption or for disloyalty to the State shall be conclusive proof of the fact:
9A. Disqualification for Government contracts, etc. —A person shall be disqualified if, and for so long as, there subsists a contract entered into by him in the course of his trade or business with the appropriate Government for the supply of goods to, or for the execution of any works undertaken by, that Government.
10. Disqualification for office under Government company. —A person shall be disqualified if, and for so long as, he is a managing agent, manager or secretary of any company or corporation (other than a cooperative society) in the capital of which the appropriate Government has not less than twenty-five per cent. share.
10A. Disqualification for failure to lodge account of election expenses. —If the Election Commission is satisfied that a person—
(a) has failed to lodge an account of election expenses within the time and in the manner required by or under this Act; and
(b) has no good reason or justification for the failure, the Election Commission shall, by order published in the Official Gazette, declare him to be disqualified and any such person shall be disqualified for a period of three years from the date of the order.

CHAPTER IV.—Disqualifications for Voting
11A. Disqualification arising out of conviction and corrupt practices.—
(1) If any person, after the commencement of this Act, is convicted of an offence punishable under section 171E bribery) or section 171F (offence of undue influence or personation at an election) or under section 125 ( Promoting enmity between classes in connection with election ) or section 135 (Removal of ballot papers from polling station to be an offence) , section 136 (Other offences and penalties)of this Act, he shall be for a period of six years from the date of the conviction or from the date on which the order takes effect, be is qualified for voting at any election.
(2) Any person disqualified by a decision of the President under sub-section (1) of section 8A for any period shall be disqualified for the same period for voting at any election.
11B. Removal of Disqualifications.—The Election Commission may, for reasons to be recorded, remove disqualification
Elections
12. Notification for biennial election to the Council of States. —For the purpose of filling the seats of members of the Council of States retiring on the expiration of their term of office the President shall, by one or more notifications published in the Gazette of India on such date or dates as may be recommended by the Election Commission, call upon the elected members of the Legislative Assembly or, as the case may be, the members of the electoral college, of each State concerned to elect members in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of the rules and orders made there under :
14. Notification for general election to the House of the People. —(1) A general election shall be held for the purpose of constituting a new House of the People on the expiration of the duration of the existing House or on its dissolution.
(2) For the said purpose the President shall, by one or more notifications published in the Gazette of India on such date or dates as may be recommended by the Election Commission, call upon all parliamentary constituencies to elect members in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of the rules and orders made there under:
15. Notification for general election to a State Legislative Assembly. —(1) A general election shall be held for the purpose of constituting a new Legislative Assembly on the expiration of the duration of the existing Assembly or on its dissolution.
(2) For the said purpose, the Governor or Administrator, as the case may be, shall by one or more notifications published in the Official Gazette of the State on such date or dates as may be recommended by the Election Commission, call upon all Assembly constituencies in the State to elect members in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of the rules and orders made thereunder:
16. Notification for biennial election to a State Legislative Council. —For the purpose of filling the seats of members of the Legislative Council of a State retiring on the expiration of their term of office, the Governor shall, by one or more notifications published in the Official Gazette of the State on such date or dates as may be recommended by the Election Commission call upon the members of the Legislative Assembly of the State and all the Council constituencies concerned to elect members in accordance with the provisions of this Act and of the rules and orders made thereunder:
19. Definition.— “constituency” means a Parliamentary constituency or an Assembly constituency or a Council constituency.
19A. Delegation of functions of Election Commission.—The functions of the Election Commission under the Constitution, the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and this Act or under the rules made thereunder may, subject to such general or special directions, if any, as may be given by the Election Commission in this behalf, be performed also by a Deputy Election Commissioner or by the Secretary to the Election Commission.
20. General duties of chief electoral officers. —Subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the Election Commission, the chief electoral officer of each State shall supervise the conduct of all elections in the State under this Act.
20A. General duties of district election officer.—(1) Subject to the superintendence, direction and control of the chief electoral officer, the district election officer shall coordinate and supervise all work in the district or in the area within his jurisdiction in connection with the conduct of all elections to Parliament and the Legislature of the State.
(2) The district election officer shall also perform such other functions as may be entrusted to him by the Election Commission and the chief electoral officer.
20B. Observers.—(1) The Election Commission may nominate an Observer who shall be an officer of Government to watch the conduct of election or elections in a constituency or a group of constituencies and to perform such other functions as may be entrusted to him by the Election Commission.
(2) The Observer nominated shall have the power to direct the returning officer for the constituency or for any of the constituencies for which he has been nominated, to stop the counting of votes at any time before the declaration of the result or not to declare the result if in the opinion of the Observer booth capturing has taken place at a large number of polling stations or at places fixed for the poll or counting of votes or any ballot papers used at a polling station or at a place fixed for the poll are unlawfully taken out of the custody of the returning officer or are accidentally or intentionally destroyed or lost or are damaged or tampered with to such an extent that the result of the poll at that polling station or place cannot be ascertained.
(3) Where an Observer has directed the returning officer under this section to stop counting of votes or not to declare the result, the Observer shall forthwith report the matter to the Election Commission and thereupon the Election Commission shall, after taking all material circumstances into account, issue appropriate directions
21. Returning officers. —For every constituency, for every election to fill a seat or seats in the Council of States and for every election by the members of the Legislative Assembly of a State to fill a seat or seats in the Legislative Council of the State, the Election Commission shall, in consultation with the Government of the State, designate or nominate a returning officer who shall be an officer of Government or of a local authority:
22. Assistant returning officers. — The Election Commission may appoint one or more persons to assist any returning officer in the performance of his functions:
24. General duty of the returning officer.——It shall be the general duty of the returning officer at any election to do all such acts and things as may be necessary for effectually conducting the election in the manner provided by this Act and rules or orders made thereunder.
25. Provision of polling stations for constituencies.—The district election officer shall, with the previous approval of the Election Commission, provide a sufficient number of polling stations for every constituency the whole or greater part of which lies within his jurisdiction, and shall publish, in such manner as the Election Commission may direct, a list showing the polling stations so provided and the polling areas or groups of voters for which they have respectively been provided.
26. Appointment of presiding officers for polling stations.—(1) The district election officer shall appoint a presiding officer for each polling station and such polling officer or officers as he thinks necessary, but he shall not appoint any person who has been employed by or on behalf of, or has been otherwise working for, a candidate in or about the election:
(2) A polling officer shall, if so directed by the presiding officer, perform all or any of the functions of a presiding officer under this Act or any rules or orders made thereunder.
(3) If the presiding officer, owing to illness or other unavoidable cause, is obliged to absent himself from the polling station, his functions shall be performed by such polling officer as has been previously authorized by the district election officer to perform such functions during any such absence.
27. General duty of the presiding officer. —It shall be the general duty of the presiding officer at a polling station to keep order thereat and to see that the poll is fairly taken.
28. Duties of a polling officer. —It shall be the duty of the polling officers at a polling station to assist the presiding officer for such station in the performance of his functions.
28A. Returning officer, presiding officer, etc., deemed to be on deputation to Election Commission. —The returning officer, assistant returning officer, presiding officer, polling officer, and any other officer appointed under this Part, and any police officer designated for the time being by the State Government, for the conduct of any election shall be deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission for the period commencing on and from the date of the notification calling for such election and ending with the date of declaration of the results of such election and accordingly, such officers shall, during that period, be subject to the control, superintendence and discipline of the Election Commission.
REGISTRATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES
29A. Registration with the Election Commission of associations and bodies as political parties. — (1) Any association or body of individual citizens of India calling itself a political party and intending to avail itself of the provisions of this Part shall make an application to the Election Commission for its registration as a political party for the purposes of this Act.
(2) Every such application shall be made, —
(a) if the association or body is in existence at the commencement of the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act, 1988 (1 of 1989), within sixty days next following such commencement;
(3) Every application under shall be signed by the chief executive officer of the association or body and presented to the Secretary to the Commission or sent to such Secretary by registered post.
(4) Every such application shall contain the following particulars, namely:—
(a) the name of the association or body;
(b) the State in which its head office is situate;
(c) the address to which letters and other communications meant for it should be sent;
(d) the names of its president, secretary, treasurer and other office-bearers;
(e) the numerical strength of its members, and if there are categories of its members, the numerical strength in each category;
(f) whether it has any local units; if so, at what levels;
(g) whether it is represented by any member or members in either House of Parliament or of any State Legislature; if so, the number of such member or members.
(5) The application shall be accompanied by a copy of the memorandum or rules and regulations of the association or body, by whatever name called, and such memorandum or rules and regulations shall contain a specific provision that the association or body shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy, and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
(6) The Commission may call for such other particulars as it may deem fit from the association or body.
(7) After considering all the particulars as aforesaid in its possession and any other necessary and relevant factors and after giving the representatives of the association or body reasonable opportunity of being heard, the Commission shall decide either to register the association or body as a political party for the purposes of this Part, or not so to register it; and the Commission shall communicate its decision to the association or body:
Provided that no association or body shall be registered as a political party under this unless the memorandum or rules and regulations of such association or body conform to the provisions.
(8) The decision of the Commission shall be final.
(9) After an association or body has been registered as a political party as aforesaid, any change in its name, head office, office-bearers, address or in any other material matters shall be communicated to the Commission without delay.
29 B. Political parties entitled to accept contribution.—Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), every political party may accept any amount of contribution voluntarily offered to it by any person or company other than a Government company:
Provided that no political party shall be eligible to accept any contribution from any foreign source defined under clause
(e) The Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976 (49 of 1976).

CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS
Nomination of Candidates
30. Appointment of dates for nominations, etc.—As soon as the notification calling upon a constituency to elect a member or members is issued, the Election Commission shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint —
(a) the last date for making nominations, which shall be the seventh day after the date of publication of the first-mentioned notification or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday;
(b) the date for the scrutiny of nominations, which shall be the day immediately following the last date for making nominations or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday ;
(c) the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures, which shall be the second day after the date for the scrutiny of nominations or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday;
(d) the date or dates on which a poll shall, if necessary, be taken, which or the first of which shall be a date not earlier than the fourteenth day after the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures; and
(e) the date before which the election shall be completed.
31. Public notice of election. —On the issue of a notification the returning officer shall give public notice of the intended election in such form and manner as may be prescribed, inviting nominations of candidates for such election and specifying the place at which the nomination papers are to be delivered.
32. Nomination of candidates for election. —Any person may be nominated as a candidate for election to fill a seat if he is qualified to be chosen to fill that seat under the provisions of the Constitution .
33. Presentation of nomination paper and requirements for a valid nomination. —(1) On or before the date appointed each candidate shall, either in person or by his proposer, between the hours of eleven o’clock in the forenoon and three o’clock in the afternoon deliver to the returning officer at the place specified in this behalf in the notice issued under section 31 a nomination paper completed in the prescribed form and signed by the candidate and by an elector of the constituency as proposer :
Provided that a candidate not set up by a recognised political party, shall not be deemed to be duly nominated for election form a constituency unless the nomination paper is subscribed by ten proposers being electors of the constituency:
Provided also that in the case of a local authorities’ constituency, graduates’ constituency or teachers’ constituency, the reference to “an elector of the constituency as proposer” shall be construed as a reference to ten per cent of the electors of the constituency or ten such electors, whichever is less, as proposers.
On the presentation of a nomination paper, the returning officer shall satisfy himself that the names and electoral roll numbers of the candidate and his proposer as entered in the nomination paper are the same as those entered in the electoral rolls:
Provided that no misnomer or inaccurate description or clerical, technical or printing error in regard to the name of the candidate or his proposer or any other person, or in regard to any place, mentioned in the electoral roll or the nomination paper and no clerical, technical or printing error in regard to the electoral roll numbers of any such person in the electoral roll or the nomination paper, shall affect the full operation of the electoral roll or the nomination paper with respect to such person or place in any case where the description in regard to the name of the person or place is such as to be commonly understood; and the returning officer shall permit any such misnomer or inaccurate description or clerical, technical or printing error to be corrected and where necessary, direct that any such misnomer, inaccurate description, clerical, technical or printing error in the electoral roll or in the nomination paper shall be overlooked.
(6) Nothing shall prevent any candidate from being nominated by more than one nomination paper:
Provided that not more than four nomination papers shall be presented by or on behalf of any candidate or accepted by the returning officer for election in the same constituency.
(7) Notwithstanding anything a person shall not be nominated as a candidate for election,—
(a) in the case of a general election to the House of the People (whether or not held simultaneously from all Parliamentary constituencies), from more than two Parliamentary constituencies;
(b) in the case of a general election to the Legislative Assembly of a State (whether or not held simultaneously from all Assembly constituencies), from more than two Assembly constituencies in that State;
(c) in the case of a biennial election to the Legislative Council of a State having such Council, from more than two Council constituencies in the State;
(d) in the case of a biennial election to the Council of States for filling two or more seats allotted to a State, for filling more than two such seats;
(e) in the case of bye-elections to the House of the People from two or more Parliamentary constituencies which are held simultaneously, from more than two such Parliamentary constituencies;
(f) in the case of bye-elections to the Legislative Assembly of a State from two or more Assembly constituencies which are held simultaneously, from more than two such Assembly constituencies;
(g) in the case of bye-elections to the Council of States for filling two or more seats allotted to a State, which are held simultaneously, for filling more than two such seats;
(h) in the case of bye-elections to the Legislative Council of a State having such Council from two or more Council constituencies which are held simultaneously, from more than two such Council constituencies.
33A. Right to information.—(1) A candidate shall, apart from any information which he is required to furnish, under this Act or the rules made thereunder, in his nomination paper delivered under section 33, also furnish the information as to whether –
(i) he is accused of any offence punishable with imprisonment for two years or more in a pending case in which a charge has been framed by the court of competent jurisdiction;
(ii) he has been convicted of an offence other than any offence referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section
(2) sentenced to imprisonment for one year or more.
(3) The returning officer shall, as soon as may be after the furnishing of information to him display the aforesaid information by affixing a copy of the affidavit, at a conspicuous place at his office for the information of the electors relating to a constituency for which the nomination paper is delivered.
34. Deposits.—(1) A candidate shall not be deemed to be duly nominated for election from a constituency unless he deposits or causes to be deposited,—
(a) in the case of an election from a Parliamentary constituency, a sum of ten thousand rupees or where the candidate is a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, a sum of five thousand rupees; and
(b) in the case of an election from an Assembly or Council constituency, a sum of five thousand rupees or where the candidate is a member of a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, a sum of two thousand and five hundred rupees :
35. Notice of nominations and the time and place for their Scrutiny.—The returning officer shall, on receiving the nomination paper inform the person or persons delivering the same of the date, time and place fixed for the scrutiny of nominations and shall enter on the nomination paper its serial number, and shall sign thereon a certificate stating the date on which and the hour at which the nomination paper has been delivered to him; and shall, as soon as may be thereafter, cause to be affixed in some conspicuous place in his office a notice of the nomination containing descriptions similar to those contained in the nomination paper, both of the candidate and of the proposer
36. Scrutiny of nominations.—(1) On the date fixed for the scrutiny of nominations, the candidates, their election agents, one proposer of each candidate, and one other person duly authorized in writing by each candidate, but no other person, may attend at such time and place as the returning officer may appoint; and the returning officer shall give them all reasonable facilities for examining the nomination papers of all candidates which have been delivered within the time.
(2) The returning officer shall then examine the nomination papers and shall decide all objections which may be made to any nomination and may, either on such objection or on his own motion, after such summary inquiry, if any, as he thinks necessary, reject any nomination on any of the following grounds:—
that on the date fixed for the scrutiny of nominations the candidate either is not qualified or is disqualified for being chosen to fill the seat under any of the following provisions that may be applicable
(b) that there has been a failure to comply with any of the provisions of section 33 or section 34 ; or
(c) that the signature of the candidate or the proposer on the nomination paper is not genuine.
(3) rejection of the nomination of any candidate on the ground of any irregularity in respect of a nomination paper, if the candidate has been duly nominated by means of another nomination paper in respect of which no irregularity has been committed.
(4) The returning officer shall not reject any nomination paper on the ground of any defect which is not of a substantial character.
(5) The returning officer shall hold the scrutiny on the date appointed in this behalf and shall not allow any adjournment of the proceedings except when such proceedings are interrupted or obstructed by riot or open violence or by causes beyond his control .
(6) The returning officer shall endorse on each nomination paper his decision accepting or rejecting the same and, if the nomination paper is rejected, shall record in writing a brief statement of his reasons for such rejection.
(8) Immediately after all the nomination papers have been scrutinized and decisions accepting or rejecting the same have been recorded, the returning officer shall prepare a list of validly nominated candidates, that is to say, candidates whose nominations have been found valid, and affix it to his notice board.
37. Withdrawal of candidature.—(1) Any candidate may withdraw his candidature by a notice in writing which shall contain such particulars as may be prescribed and shall be subscribed by him and delivered before three o’clock in the afternoon on the day fixed under section 30 to the returning officer either by such candidate in person or by his proposer or election agent who has been authorized in this behalf in writing by such candidate.
(2) No person who has given a notice of withdrawal of his candidature under sub-section (1) shall be allowed to cancel the notice.
(3) The returning officer shall, on being satisfied as to the genuineness of a notice of withdrawal and the identity of the person delivering it under sub-section (1), cause the notice to be affixed in some conspicuous place in his office.
38. Publication of list of contesting candidates.— (1) Immediately after the expiry of the period within which candidatures may be withdrawn under sub-section (1) of section 37, the returning officer shall prepare and publish in such form and manner as may be prescribed a list of contesting candidates, that is to say, candidates who were included in the list of validily nominated candidates and who have not withdrawn their candidature within the said period.
(2) For the purpose of listing the names under sub-section (1), the candidates shall be classified as follows, namely:
(i) candidates of recognised political parties;
(ii) candidates of registered political parties
(iii) other candidates.
(3) The categories mentioned in sub-section (2) shall be arranged in the order specified therein and the names of candidates in each category shall be arranged in alphabetical order and the addresses of the contesting candidates as given in the nomination papers together with such other particulars as may be prescribed.
39. Nomination of candidates at other elections.—(1) As soon as the notification calling upon the elected members or the members of the Legislative Assembly of a State or the members of the electoral college of a Union territory to elect a member or members is issued, the Election Commission shall, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint—
(a) the last date of making nominations, which shall be the seventh day after the date of publication of the first mentioned notification or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday;
(b) the date for the scrutiny of nominations, which shall be the day immediately following the last date for making nominations or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday;
(c) the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures, which shall be the second day after the date for the scrutiny of nominations or, if that day is a public holiday, the next succeeding day which is not a public holiday;
(d) the date or dates on which a poll shall, if necessary, be taken, which or the first of which shall be a date not earlier than the seventh day after the last date for the withdrawal of candidatures; and
(e) the date before which the election shall be completed.
39A. Allocation of equitable sharing of time.—
(1) the Election Commission shall, on the basis of the past performance of a recognised political party, during elections, allocate equitable sharing of time on the cable television network and other electronic media in such manner as may be prescribed to display or propagate any election matter or to address public in connection with an election.
(2) The allocation of equitable sharing of time, in respect of an election, shall be made after the publication of list of contesting candidates under section 38 for the election and shall be valid till forty-eight hours before the hour fixed for poll for such election.
(3) The allocation of equitable sharing of time shall be binding on all political parties concerned.
(4) The Election commission may, for the purpose of this section, make code of conduct for cable operators and electronic media and the cable operators and every person managing or responsible for the management of the electronic media shall abide by such code of conduct.
(a) “electronic media” includes radio and any other broadcasting media notified by the Central Government in theOfficial gazette;
(b) “cable television network” and “cable operator” have the meanings respectively assigned to them under thecable Television Networks .
Candidates and their agents
40. Election agents.—A candidate at an election may appoint in the prescribed manner any one person other than himself to be his election agent and when any such appointment is made, notice of the appointment shall be given in the prescribed manner to the returning officer.
41. Disqualification for being an election agent.—Any person who is for the time being disqualified under the Constitution or under this Act for being a member of either House of Parliament or the House or either House of the Legislature of a State or for voting at elections, shall, so long as the disqualification subsists, also be disqualified for being an election agent at any election.
42. Revocation of the appointment, or death, of an election agent.—(1) Any revocation of the appointment of an election agent, shall be signed by the candidate, and shall operate from the date on which it is lodged with the returning officer.
(2) In the event of such a revocation or of the death of an election agent whether that event occurs before or during the election, or after the election but before the account of the candidate’s election expenses has been lodged in accordance with the provisions of section 78, the candidate may appoint in the prescribed manner another person to be his election agent and when such appointment is made notice of the appointment shall be given in the prescribed manner to the returning officer.
45. Functions of election agents.—An election agent may perform such functions in connection with the election as are authorised by or under this Act to be performed by an election agent.
46. Appointment of polling agents.—A contesting candidate or his election agent may appoint in the prescribed manner such number of agents and relief agents as may be prescribed to act as polling agents of such candidate at each polling station provided for the poll.
47. Appointment of counting agents.—A contesting candidate or his election agent may appoint in the prescribed manner one or more persons, but not exceeding such number as may be prescribed, to be present as his counting agent or agents at the counting of votes, and when any such appointment is made notice of the appointment shall be given in the prescribed manner to the returning officer.
49. Functions of polling agents and counting agents.—(1) A polling agent may perform such functions in connection with the poll as are authorised by or under this Act to be performed by a polling agent.
(2) A counting agent may perform such functions in connection with the counting of votes as are authorised by or under this Act to be performed by a counting agent.
50. Attendance of contesting candidate or his election agent at polling stations, and performance by him of the functions of a polling agent or counting agent.— (1) At every election where a poll is taken, each contesting candidate at such election and his election agent shall have a right to be present at any polling station
(2) A contesting candidate or his election agent may himself do any act or thing which any polling agent or the counting agent of such contesting candidate if appointed, would have been authorised by or under this Act to do, or may assist any polling agent or the counting agent of such contesting candidate in doing any such act or thing.
51. Non-attendance of polling or counting agents.— Where any act or thing is required or authorised by or under this Act to be done in the presence of the polling or counting agents, the non-attendance of any such agent or agents at the time and place appointed for the purpose shall not, if the act or thing is otherwise duly done, invalidate the act or thing done.
CHAPTER III.—General Procedure at Elections
52. Death of candidate of reorganised political party before poll. — (1) If a candidate, set up by a recognised political party,—
(a) dies at any time after 11 A.M. on the last date for making nomination and his nomination is found valid on scrutiny or
(b) whose nomination has been found valid on scrutiny under section 36 and who has not withdrawn his candidature dies; and in either case, a report of his death is received at any time before the publication of the list of contesting candidate 38; or
(c) dies as a contesting candidate and a report of his death is received before the commencement of the poll, the returning officer shall, upon being satisfied about the fact of the death of the candidate, by order announce an adjournment of the poll to a date to be notified later and report the fact to the Election Commission and also to the appropriate authority:
Provided that no order for adjourning a poll should be made in a case referred to in clause (a) except after the scrutiny of all the nominations including the nomination of the deceased candidate:
(2) The Election Commission shall, on receipt of a report from the returning officer under sub-section (1), call upon the recognised political party, whose candidate has died, to nominate another candidate for the said poll within seven days of issue of such notice to such recognised political party and the provisions of sections 30 to 37 shall, so far as may be, apply in relation to such nomination as they would apply to other nominations:
Provided that no person who has given a notice of withdrawal of his candidature under sub-section (1) of section 37 before the adjournment of the poll shall be ineligible for being nominated as a candidate for election after such adjournment.
(3) Where a list of contesting candidates had been published under section 38 before the adjournment of the poll under sub-section (1), the returning officer shall again prepare and publish a fresh list of contesting candidates under that section so as to include the name of the candidate who has been validly nominated under sub-section (2).
CHAPTER IV.— The Poll
56. Fixing time for poll.—The Election Commission shall fix the hours during which the poll will be taken; and the hours so fixed shall be published in such manner as may be prescribed: Provided that the total period allotted on any one day for polling at an election in a Parliamentary or Assembly constituency shall not be less than eight hours.
57. Adjournment of poll in emergencies.—(1) If at an election the proceedings at any polling station provided for poll are interrupted or obstructed by any riot or open violence, or if at an election it is not possible to take the poll at any polling station or such place on account of any natural calamity, or any other sufficient cause, the presiding officer for such polling station or the returning officer presiding over such place, as the case may be, shall announce an adjournment of the poll to a date to be notified later, and where the poll is so adjourned by a presiding officer, he shall forthwith inform the returning officer concerned.
(2) Whenever a poll is adjourned under sub-section (1), the returning officer shall immediately report the circumstances to the appropriate authority and the Election Commission, and shall, as soon as may be, with the previous approval of the Election Commission, appoint the day on which the poll shall recommence, and fix the polling station or place at which and the hours during which the poll will be taken and shall not count the votes cast at such election until such adjourned poll shall have been completed.
(3) In every such case the returning officer shall notify in such manner as the Election Commission may direct the date, place and hours of polling fixed
58. Fresh poll in the case of destruction, etc., of ballot boxes.—(1) If at any election,—
(a) any ballot box used at a polling station or at a place fixed for the poll is unlawfully taken out of the custody of the presiding officer or the returning officer, or is accidentally or intentionally destroyed or lost, or is damaged or tampered with, to such an extent, that the result of the poll at that polling station or place cannot be ascertained; or
(aa) any voting machine develops a mechanical failure during the course of the recording of votes; or
(b) any such error or irregularity in procedure as is likely to vitiate the poll is committed at a polling station or at a place fixed for the poll, the returning officer shall forthwith report the matter to the Election Commission.
(2) Thereupon the Election Commission shall, after taking all material circumstances into account; either—
(a) declare the poll at that polling station or place to be void, appoint a day, and fix the hours, for taking a freshpoll at that polling station or place and notify the day so appointed and the hours so fixed in such manner as it may deem fit, or
(b) if satisfied that the result of a fresh poll at that polling station or place will not, in any way, affect the result of the election or that the mechanical failure of the voting machine or the error or irregularity in procedure is not material, issue such directions to the returning officer as it may deem proper for the further conduct and completion of the election.
(3) The provisions of this Act and of any rules or orders made there under shall apply to every such fresh poll as they apply to the original poll.
58A. Adjournment of poll or countermanding of election on the ground of booth capturing.—
(1) If at any election,— (a) booth capturing has taken place at a polling station or at a place fixed for the poll (hereafter in this section referred to as a place) in such a manner that the result of the poll at that polling station or place cannot be ascertained; or
(b) booth capturing takes place in any place for counting of votes in such a manner that the result of the counting at that place cannot be ascertained, the returning officer shall forthwith report the matter to the Election Commission.
(2) The Election Commission shall, on the receipt of a report from the returning officer under sub-section
(1) and after taking all material circumstances into account, either—
(a) declare that the poll at that polling station or place be void, appoint a day, and fix the hours, for taking fresh poll at that polling station or place and notify the date so appointed and hours so fixed in such manner as it may deem fit; or
(b) if satisfied that in view of the large number of polling stations or places involved in booth capturing the result of the election is likely to be affected, or that booth capturing had affected counting of votes in such a manner as to affect the result of the election, countermand the election in that constituency.
61. Special procedure for preventing personation of electors.—With a view to preventing personation of electors provision may be made by rules made under this Act:—
(a) for the marking with indelible ink of the thumb or any other finger of every elector who applies for a ballot paper or ballot papers for the purpose of voting at a polling station before delivery of such paper or papers to him;
(b) for the production before the presiding officer or a polling officer of a polling station by every such elector as aforesaid of his identity card before the delivery of a ballot paper or ballot papers to him if under rules made in that behalf under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, electors of the constituency in which the polling station is situated have been supplied with identity cards with or without their respective photographs attached thereto; and
(c) for prohibiting the delivery of any ballot paper to any person for voting at a polling station if at the time such person applies for such paper he has already such a mark on his thumb or any other finger or does not produce on demand his identity card before the presiding officer or a polling officer of the polling station.
62. Right to vote.—(1) No person who is not, and except as expressly provided by this Act, every person who is, for the time being entered in the electoral roll of by any constituency shall be entitled to vote in that constituency.
(2) No person shall vote at an election in any constituency if he is subject to any of the disqualifications referred to in section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
(3) No person shall vote at a general election in more than one constituency of the same class, and if a person votes in more than one such constituency, his votes in all such constituencies shall be void.
(4) No person shall at any election vote in the same constituency more than once, notwithstanding that his name may have been registered in the electoral roll for that constituency more than once, and if he does so vote, all his votes in that constituency shall be void.
(5) No person shall vote at any election if he is confined in a prison, whether under a sentence of imprisonment or transportation or otherwise, or is in the lawful custody of the police:
Provided that nothing in this sub-section shall apply to a person subjected to preventive detention under any law for the time being in force.
CHAPTER V.—Counting of Votes
64. Counting of votes.—At every election where a poll is taken, votes shall be counted by, or under the supervision and direction of, the returning officer, and each contesting candidate, his election shall have a right to be present at the time of counting.
65. Equality of votes.—If, after the counting of the votes is completed, an equality of votes is found to exist between any candidates, and the addition of one vote will entitle any of those candidates to be declared elected, the returning officer shall forthwith decide between those candidates by lot, and proceed as if the candidate on whom the lot falls had received an additional vote.
66. Declaration of results.—When the counting of the votes has been completed, the returning officer shall, in the absence of any direction by the Election Commission to the contrary, forthwith declare the result of the election in the manner provided by this Act or the rules made thereunder.
67. Report of the result.—As soon as may be after the result of an election has been declared, the returning officer shall report the result to the appropriate authority and the Election Commission, and in the case of an election to a House of Parliament or of the Legislature of a State also to the Secretary of that House, and the appropriate authority shall cause to be published in the Official Gazette the declarations containing the names of the elected candidates.

Multiple Elections
68. Vacation of seats when elected to both Houses of Parliament.—(1) Any person who is chosen a member of both the Houses of the People and the Council of States and who has not taken his seat in either House may, by notice in writing signed by him and delivered to the Secretary to the Election Commission within ten days from the date, or the later of the dates, on which he is so chosen, intimate in which of the Houses he wishes to serve, and thereupon, his seat in the House in which he does not wish to serve shall become vacant.
(2) In default of such intimation within the aforesaid period, his seat in the Council of States shall, at the expiration of that period, become vacant.
(3) Any intimation given under sub-section (1) shall be final and irrevocable.
(4) For the purposes of this section and of section 69, the date on which a person is chosen to be a member of either House of Parliament shall be in the case of an elected member, the date of his election and in the case of a nominated member, the date of first publication in the Gazette of India of his nomination.
69. Vacation of seats by persons already members of one House on election to other House of Parliament.—
(1) If a person who is already a member of the House of the People and has taken his seat in such House is chosen a member of the Council of States, his seat in the House of the People shall, on the date on which he is so chosen, become vacant.
(2) If a person who is already a member of the Council of States and has taken his seat in such Council is chosen a member of the House of the People, his seat in the Council of States shall, on the date on which he is so chosen, become vacant.
70. Election to more than one seat in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the legislature of a State.—If a person is elected to more than one seat in either House of Parliament or in the House or either House of the Legislature of a State, then, unless within the prescribed time he resigns all but one of the seats by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker or Chairman, as the case may be, or to such other authority or officer as may be prescribed, all the seats shall become vacant.
Publication of election Results and Nominations
71. Publication of results of elections to the Council of States and of names of persons nominated by the President.—After the elections held in any year in pursuance of the notifications issued under section 12, there shall be notified by the appropriate authority in the Official Gazette the names of members elected by the elected members of the Legislative Assemblies of the States and by the members of the electoral colleges for the various Union territories at the said elections together with the names of any persons nominated by the President of the Council of States under sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of article 80 or under any other provisions.
DECLARATION OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
75A. Declaration of assets and liabilities.—(1) Every elected candidate for a House of Parliament shall, within ninety days from the date on which he makes and subscribes an oath or affirmation, according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third Schedule to the Constitution, for taking his seat in either House of Parliament, furnish the information, relating to—
(i) the movable and immovable property of which he, his spouse and his dependant children are jointly or severally owners or beneficiaries;
(ii) his liabilities to any public financial institution; and
(iii) his liabilities to the Central Government or the State Government, to the Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the People, as the case may be.
(2) The information under shall be furnished in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed in the rules.
(3) The Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the People, as the case may be, may make rules for the purposes
(4) The rules made by the Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the People,
(3) shall be laid, as soon as may be after they are made, before the Council of States or the House of the People, as the case may be, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions and shall take effect upon the expiry of the said period of thirty days unless they are sooner approved with or without modifications or disapproved by the Council of States or the House of the People and where they are so approved, they shall take effect on such approval in the form in which they were laid or in such modified form, as the case may be, and where they are so disapproved, they shall be of no effect.
(5) The Chairman of the Council of States or the Speaker of the House of the People, as the case may be, may direct that any wilful contravention of the rules made under sub-section (3) by an elected candidate for a House of Parliament referred to in sub-section (1) may be dealt with in the same manner as a breach of privilege of the Council of States or the House of the People, as the case may be.

Election Expenses
77. Account of election expenses and maximum thereof.—(1) Every candidate at an election shall, either by himself or by his election agent, keep a separate and correct account of all expenditure in connection with the election incurred or authorized by him or by his election agent between the date on which he has been nominated and the date of declaration of the result thereof, both dates inclusive.
(a) the expenditure incurred by leaders of a political party on account of travel by air or by any other means of transport for propagating programme of the political party shall not be deemed to be the expenditure in connection with the election incurred or authorised by a candidate of that political party or his election agent for the purposes of this sub-section.
(b) any expenditure incurred in respect of any arrangements made, facilities provided or any other act or thing done by any person in the service of the Government and belonging to any of the classes mentioned in clause (7) of section 123 in the discharge or purported discharge of his official duty as mentioned in the proviso to that clause shall not be deemed to be expenditure in connection with the election incurred or authorised by a candidate or by his election agent for the purposes of this sub-section.
78. Lodging of account with the district election officer.— (1) Every contesting candidate at an election shall, within thirty days from the date of election of the returned candidate or, if there are more than one returned candidate atthe election and the dates of their election are different, the later of those two dates, lodge with the district election officer an account of his election expenses which shall be a true copy of the account kept by him or by his election agent

DISPUTES REGARDING ELECTIONS
Presentation of Election Petitions to High Court
80. Election petitions.—No election shall be called in question except by an election petition presented in
Accordance with the provisions of this Part.
80A. High Court to try election petitions.—(1) The Court having jurisdiction to try an election petition shall be the High Court.
(2) Such jurisdiction shall be exercised ordinarily by a single Judge of the High Court and the Chief Justice shall, from time to time, assign one or more Judges for that purpose:
Provided that where the High Court consists only of one Judge, he shall try all election petitions presented to that Court.
(3) The High Court in its discretion may, in the interests of justice or convenience, try an election petition, wholly or partly, at a place other than the place of seat of the High Court.
81. Presentation of petitions.—(1) An election petition calling in question any election may be presented on one or more of the grounds specified in sub-section (1) of section 100 and section 101 to the High Court by any candidate at such election or any elector within forty-five days from, but not earlier than the date of election of the returned candidate, or if there are more than one returned candidate at the election and the dates of their election are different, the later of those two dates.
82. Parties to the petition.—A petitioner shall join as respondents to his petition—
(a) where the petitioner, in addition to claiming a declaration that the election of all or any of the returnedcandidates is void, claims a further declaration that he himself or any other candidate has been duly elected, all thecontesting candidates other than the petitioner, and where no such further declaration is claimed, all the returnedcandidates; and
(b) any other candidate against whom allegations of any corrupt practice are made in the petition.
100. Grounds for declaring election to be void.— if the High Court is of opinion—
(a) that on the date of his election a returned candidate was not qualified, or was disqualified, to bechosen to fill the seat under the Constitution or this Act 9 or the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of1963); or
(b) that any corrupt practice has been committed by a returned candidate or his election agent or byany other person with the consent of a returned candidate or his election agent; or
(c) that any nomination has been improperly rejected; or
(d) that the result of the election, in so far as it concerns a returned candidate, has been materially affected—
(i) by the improper acceptance or any nomination, or
(ii) by any corrupt practice committed in the interests of the returned candidate by an agent other than his election agent, or
(iii) by the improper reception, refusal or rejection of any vote or the reception of any vote which is void,
(iv) by any non—compliance with the provisions of the Constitution or of this Act or of any rules or
orders made under this Act,the High Court shall declare the election of the returned candidate to be void.
If in the opinion of the High Court, a returned candidate has been guilty by an agent, other than his electionagent, of any corrupt practice but the High Court is satisfied—
(a) that no such corrupt practice was committed at the election by the candidate or his election agent, and everysuch corrupt practice was committed contrary to the orders, and without the consent, of the candidate or his election agent;
(c) that the candidate and his election agent took all reasonable means for preventing the commission of corrupt practices at the election; and
(d) that in all other respects the election was free from any corrupt practice on the part of the candidate or any of his agents, then the High Court may decide that the election of the returned candidate is not void.
102. Procedure in case of an equality of votes.—If during the trial of an election petition it appears that there is an equality of votes between any candidates at the election and that the addition of a vote would entitle any of those candidates,—
(a) any decision made by the returning officer under the provisions of this Act shall, in so far as it determines the question between those candidates, be effective also for the purposes of the petition; and
(b) in so far as that question is not determined by such a decision the High Court shall decide between them by lot and proceed as if the one on whom the lot then falls had received an additional vote,
103. Communication of orders of the High Court.—The High Court shall, as soon as may be after the conclusion of the trial of an election petition, intimate the substance of the decision to the Election Commission and the Speaker or Chairman, as the case may be, of the House of Parliament or of the State Legislature concerned and, as soon as may be thereafter, shall send to the Election Commission an authenticated copy of the decision.
116A. Appeals to Supreme Court.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, an appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court on any question (whether of law or fact) from every order made by a High Court under section 98 or section 99.
(2) Every appeal under this Chapter shall be preferred within a period of thirty days from the date of the order of the High Court under section 98 or section 99:
Provided that the Supreme Court may entertain an appeal after the expiry of the said period of thirty days if it is satisfied that the appellant had sufficient cause for not preferring the appeal within such period.
Corrupt Practice
123. Corrupt practices.—The following shall be deemed to be corrupt practices for the purposes of this Act:— (1) “Bribery”, that is to say—
(A) any gift, offer or promise by a candidate or his agent with the consent of a candidate or his election agent of any gratification, to any person with the object to directly or indirectly inducing—
(a) a person to stand or not to stand as, or to withdraw or not to withdraw from being candidate at an election, or
(b) an elector to vote or refrain from voting at an election, or as a reward to—
(i) a person for having so stood or not stood, or for having withdrawn or not having withdrawn his candidature; or
(ii) an elector for having voted or refrained from voting;

(B) the receipt of, or agreement to receive, any gratification, whether as a motive or a reward—
(a) by a person for standing or not standing as, or for withdrawing or not withdrawing from being, a candidate; or
(b) by any person whomsoever for himself or any other person for voting or refraining fromvoting, or inducing or attempting to induce any elector to vote or refrain from voting, or any candidate to withdraw or not to withdraw his candidature.
(2) Undue influence, that is to say, any direct or indirect interference or attempt to interfere on the part of the candidate or his agent, or of any other person with the consent of the candidate or his election agent, with the free exercise of any electoral right:
Provided that—
(a) without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of this clause any such person as is referred to therein who— (i) threatens any candidate or any elector, or any person in whom a candidate or an elector is interested, with injury of any kind including social ostracism and ex-communication or expulsion from any caste or community; or (ii) induces or attempts to induce a candidate or an elector to believe that he, or any person in whom he is interested, will become or will be rendered an object of divine displeasure or spiritual censure, shall be deemed to interfere with the free exercise of the electoral right of such candidate or elector;
(b) a declaration of public policy, or a promise of public action, or the mere exercise of a legal right without intent to interfere with an electoral right, shall not be deemed to be interference within the meaning of this clause.
(3) The appeal by a candidate or his agent or by any other person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent to vote or refrain from voting for any person on the ground of his religion, race, caste, community or language or the use of, or appeal to religious symbols or the use of, or appeal to, national symbols, such as the national flag or the national emblem, for the furtherance of the prospects of the election of that candidate or for prejudicially affecting the election of any candidate:
(3A)* The promotion or attempt to promote, feelings of enmity or hatred between different classes of the citizens of India on grounds of religion, race, caste, community, or language, by a candidate or his agent or any other person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent for the furtherance of the prospects of the election of that candidate or for prejudicially affecting the election of any candidate.
(3B) The propagation of the practice or the commission of sati or its glorification by a candidate or his agent or any other person with the consent of the candidate or his election agent for the furtherance of the prospects of the election of that candidate or for prejudicially affecting the election of any candidate.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, “sati” and “glorification” in relation to sati shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in the Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act, 1987 .
(5) The hiring or procuring, whether on payment or otherwise, of any vehicle or vessel by a candidate or his agent or by any other person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent, or the use of such vehicle or vessel for the free conveyance of any elector (other than the candidate himself, the members of his family or his agent) to or from any polling station .
(7) The obtaining or procuring or abetting or attempting to obtain or procure by a candidate or his agent or, by any other person with the consent of a candidate or his election agent, any assistance (other than the giving of vote) for the furtherance of the prospects of that candidate’s election, from any person in the service of the Government and belonging to any of the following classes, namely:—
(a) gazetted officers;
(b) stipendiary judges and magistrates;
(c) members of the armed forces of the Union;
(d) members of the police forces;
(e) excise officers;
(f) revenue officers

Electoral offences
125. Promoting enmity between classes in connection with election.—Any person who in connection with an election under this Act promotes or attempts to promote on grounds of religion, race, caste, community or language, feelings of enmity or hatred, between different classes of the citizens of India shall be punishable, with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.
125A. Penalty for filing false affidavit, etc.—A candidate who himself or through his proposer, with intent to be elected in an election,—
(i) fails to furnish information relating to sub-section (1) of section 33A; or
(ii) give false information which he knows or has reason to believe to be false; or
(iii) conceals any information, in his nomination paper delivered under sub-section (1) of section 33 or in his affidavit which is required to be delivered under sub-section (2) of section 33A, as the case may be, shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.
126. Prohibition of public meetings during period of forty—eight hours ending with hour fixed for conclusion of poll.—
(1) No person shall—
(a) convene, hold or attend, join or address any public meeting or procession in connection with an election; or
(b) display to the public any election matter by means of cinematograph, television or other similar apparatus; or
(c) propagate any election matter to the public by holding, or by arranging the holding of, any musical concert or any theatrical performance or any other entertainment or amusement with a view to attracting the members of the public thereto, in any polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in the polling area.
(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
(3) In this section, the expression “election matter” means any matter intended or calculated to influence or affect the result of an election..
127. Disturbances at election meetings.—(1) Any person who at a public meeting to which this section applies acts, or incites others to act, in a disorderly manner for the purpose of preventing the transaction of the business for which the meeting was called together,shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees or with both.
(2) This section applies to any public meeting of a political character held in any constituency between the date of the issue of a notification under this Act calling upon the constituency to elect a member or members and the date on which such election is held.
(3) If any police officer reasonably suspects any person of committing an offence under sub-section (1), he may, if requested so to do by the chairman of the meeting, require that person to declare to him immediately his name and address and, if that person refuses or fails so to declare his name and address, or if the police officer reasonably suspects him of giving a false name or address, the police officer may arrest him without warrant.
127A. Restrictions on the printing of pamphlets, posters, etc.—(1) No person shall print or publish, or cause to be printed or published, any election pamphlet or poster which does not bear on its face the names and addresses of the printer and the publisher thereof.
(2) No person shall print or cause to be printed any election pamphlet or poster—
(a) unless a declaration as to the identity of the publisher thereof, signed by him and attested by two persons to whom he is personally known, is delivered by him to the printer in duplicate; and
(b) unless, within a reasonable time after the printing of the document, one copy of the declaration is sent by the printer, together with one copy of the document,—
(i) where it is printed in the capital of the State, to the Chief Electoral Officer; and
(ii) in any other case, to the district magistrate of the district in which it is printed.
(3) For the purposes of this section,—
(a) any process for multiplying copies of a document, other than copying it by hand, shall be deemed to be printing and the expression “printer” shall be construed accordingly; and
(b) “election pamphlet or poster” means any printed pamphlet, hand-bill or other document distributed for the purpose of promoting or prejudicing the election of a candidate or group of candidates or any placard or poster having reference to an election, but does not include any hand-bill, placard or poster merely announcing the date, time, place and other particulars of an election meeting or routine instructions to election agents or workers.
(4) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both..
128. Maintenance of Secrecy of voting.—(1) Every officer, clerk, agent or other person who performs any duty in connection with the recording or counting of votes at an election shall maintain, and aid in maintaining, the secrecy of the voting and shall not (except for some purpose authorised by or under any law) communicate to any person any information calculated to violate such secrecy:
Provided that the provisions of this sub-section shall not apply to such officer, clerk, agent or other person who performs any such duty at an election to fill a seat or seats in the Council of States.
(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine or with both.
129. Officers, etc., at elections not to act for candidates or to influence voting.— (1) No person who is a district election officer or a returning officer, or an assistant returning officer, or a presiding or polling officer at anelection, or an officer or clerk appointed by the returning officer or the presiding officer to perform any duty in connection with an election shall in the conduct or the management of the election do any act (other than the giving of vote) for the furtherance of the prospects of the election of a candidate.
(2) No such person as aforesaid, and no member of a police force, shall endeavour—
(a) to persuade any person to give his vote at an election, or
(b) to dissuade any person from giving his vote at an election, or
(c) to influence the voting of any person at an election in any manner.
(3) Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months or with fine or with both.
130. Prohibition of canvassing in or near polling station.—(1) No person shall, on the date or dates on which a poll is taken at any polling station, commit any of the following acts within the polling station or in any public or private place within a distance of one hundred metres of the polling station, namely:—
(a) canvassing for votes ; or
(b) soliciting the vote of any elector; or
(c) persuading any elector not to vote for any particular candidate; or
(d) persuading any elector not to vote at the election ; or
(e) exhibiting any notice or sign (other than an official notice) relating to the election.
(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) shall be punishable with fine which may extend to two hundred and fifty rupees.
(3) An offence punishable under this section shall be cognizable.
131. Penalty for disorderly conduct in or near polling stations.—(1) No person shall, on the date or dates on which a poll is taken at any polling station,—
(a) use or operate within or at the entrance of the polling station, or in any public or private place in the neighbourhood thereof, any apparatus for amplifying or reproducing the human voice, such as a megaphone or a loudspeaker,or
(b) shout, or otherwise act in a disorderly manner, within or at the entrance of the polling station or in any public or private place in the neighbourhood thereof, so as to cause annoyance to any person visiting the polling station for the poll, or so as to interfere with the work of the officers and other persons on duty at the polling station.
(2) Any person who contravenes, or wilfully aids or abets the contravention of, the provisions of sub-section
(1) shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months or with fine or with both.
(3) If the presiding officer of a polling station has reason to believe that any person is committing or has committed an offence punishable under this section, he may direct any police officer to arrest such person, and thereupon the police officer shall arrest him.
(4) Any police officer may take such steps, and use such force, as may be reasonably necessary for preventing any contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1), and may seize any apparatus used for such contravention.
132. Penalty for misconduct at the polling station.—
(1) Any person who during the hours fixed for the poll at any polling station misconducts himself or fails to obey the lawful directions of the presiding officer may be removed from the polling station by the presiding officer or by any police officer on duty or by any person authorised in this behalf by such presiding officer.
(2) The powers conferred by sub-section (1) shall not be exercised so as to prevent any elector who is otherwise entitled voting at that station.
(3) If any person who has been so removed from a polling station re-enters the polling station without the permission of the presiding officer, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine, or with both.
(4) An offence punishable under sub-section (3) shall be cognizable.
132A. Penalty for failure to observe procedure for voting.—If any elector to whom a ballot paper has been issued, refused to observe the procedure prescribed for voting the ballot paper issued to him shall be liable for cancellation.
133. Penalty for illegal hiring or procuring of conveyance at elections.—If any person is guilty of any such corrupt practice as is specified in clause (5) of section 123 at or in connection with an election, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months and with fine.
134. Breaches of official duty in connection with election.—(1) If any person to whom this section applies is without reasonable cause guilty of any act or omission in breach of his official duty, he shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.
(2) No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against any such person for damages in respect of any such act or omission as aforesaid.
(3) The persons to whom this section applies are the district election officers, returning officers, assistant returning officers, presiding officers, polling officers and any other person appointed to perform any duty in connection with the receipt of nominations or withdrawal of candidatures, or the recording or counting of votes at an election; and the expression “official duty” shall for the purposes of this section be construed accordingly, but shall not include duties imposed otherwise than by or under this Act .
134A. Penalty for Government servants for acting as election agent, polling agent or counting agent.—If any person in the service of the Government acts as an election agent or a polling agent or a counting agent of a candidate at an election, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine, or with both.
134B. Prohibition of going armed to or near a polling station.— (1) No person, other than the returning officer, the presiding officer, any police officer and any other person appointed to maintain peace and order, at a polling station who is on duty at the polling station, shall, on a polling day, go armed with arms, as defined in the Arms Act, 1959 (54 of 1959), of any kind within the neighbourhood of a polling station.
(2) If any person contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1), he shall be punishable with imprisonment or a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Arms Act, 1959 (54 of 1959), where a person is convicted of an offence under this section, the arms as defined in the said Act found in his possession shall be liable to confiscation and the licence granted in relation to such arms shall be deemed to have been revoked under section 17 of that Act.
135. Removal of ballot papers from polling station to be an offence.—(1) Any person who at any election unauthorisedly takes, or attempts to take, a ballot paper out of a polling station, or wilfully aids or abets the doing of any such act, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both.
(2) If the presiding officer of a polling station has reason to believe that any person is committing or has committed an offence punishable under sub-section (1), such officer may, before such person leaves the polling station, arrest or direct a police officer to arrest such person and may search such person or cause him to be searched by a police officer:
Provided that when it is necessary to cause a woman to be searched, the search shall be made by another woman with strict regard to decency.
(3) Any ballot paper found upon the person arrested on search shall be made over the safe custody to a police officer by the presiding officer, or when the search is made by a police officer, shall be kept by such officer in safe custody.
135A. Offence of booth capturing.—(1) Whoever commits an offence of booth capturing shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to three years and with fine, and where such offence is committed by a person in the service of the Government, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three years but which may extend to five years and with fine.
(2) No deduction or abatement of the wages of any such person shall be made on account of a holiday having been granted in accordance with sub-section (1) and if such person is employed on the basis that he would not ordinarily receive wages for such a day, he shall nonetheless be paid for such day the wages he would have drawn had not a holiday been granted to him on that day.
(3) If an employer contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), then such employer shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.
(4) This section shall not apply to any elector whose absence may cause danger or substantial loss in respect of the employment in which he is engaged.
135C. Liquor not to be sold, given or distributed on polling day.—(1) No spirituous, fermented or intoxicating liquors or other substances of a like nature shall be sold, given or distributed at a hotel, eating house, tavern, shop or any other place, public or private, within a polling area during the period of forty-eight hours ending with the hour fixed for the conclusion of the poll for any election in that polling area.
(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of sub-section (1), shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which mayextend to six months, or with fine, which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both.
(3) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section, the sprituous, fermented or intoxicating liquors or other substances of a like nature found in his possession shall be liable to confiscation and the same shall be disposed of in such manner as may be prescribed.
136. Other offences and penalties therefor.—(1) A person shall be guilty of an electoral offence if at any election he—
(a) fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any nomination paper; or
(b) fraudulently defaces, destroys or removes any list, notice or other document affixed by or under the authority of a returning officer; or
(c) fraudulently defaces or fraudulently destroys any ballot paper or the official mark on any ballot paper or any declaration of identity or official envelop used in connection with voting by postal ballot; or
(d) without due authority supplies any ballot paper to any person2or receives any ballot paper from any person or is in possession of any ballot paper ; or
(e) fraudulently puts into any ballot box anything other than the ballot paper which he is authorised by law to put in; or
(f) without due authority destroys, takes, opens or otherwise interferes with any ballot box or ballot papers then in use for the purposes of the election; or
(g) fraudulently or without due authority, as the case may be, attempts to do any of the foregoing acts or wilfully aids or abets the doing of any such acts.
(2) Any person guilty of an electoral offence under this section shall,—
(a) if he is a returning officer or an assistant returning officer or a presiding officer at a polling station or any other officer or clerk employed on official duty in connection with the election, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both;
(b) if he is any other person, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months or with fine or with both.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a person shall be deemed to be on official duty if his duty is to take part in the conduct of an election or part of an election including the counting of votes or to be responsible after an election for the used ballot papers and other documents in connection with such election, but the expression “official duty ” shall not include any duty imposed otherwise .
DISQUALIFICATIONS
146. Powers of Election Commission.—(1) Where in connection with the tendering of any opinion to the President under article 103 or, as the case may be, under sub-section (4) of section 14 of the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 (20 of 1963), or to the Governor under article 192, the Election Commission considers it necessary or proper to make an inquiry, and the Commission is satisfied that on the basis of the affidavits filed and the documents produced in such inquiry by the parties concerned of their own accord, it cannot come to a decisive opinion on the matter which is being inquired into, the Commission shall have, for the purposes of such inquiry, the powers of a civil court, while trying a suit under the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), in respect of the following matters, namely:—
(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath ;
(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document or other material object producible as evidence;
(c) receiving evidence on affidavits;
(d) requisitioning any public record or a copy thereof from any court or office ;
(e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents.
(2) The Commission shall also have the power to require any person, subject to any privilege which may be claimed by that person under any law for the time being in force, to furnish information on such points or matters as in the opinion of the Commission may be useful for, or relevant to, the subject-matter of the inquiry.
(3) The Commission shall be deemed to be a civil court and when any such offence, as is described in section 175, section 178, section 179, section 180 or section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860), is committed in the view or presence of the Commission, the Commission may after recording the facts constituting the offence and the statement of the accused as provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 18982 (5 of 1898), forward the case to a magistrate having jurisdiction to try the same and the magistrate to whom any such case is forwarded shall proceed to hear the complaint against the accused as if the case had been forwarded to him under section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 18982 (5 of 1898).
(4) Any proceeding before the Commission shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of section 193 and section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
146 A. Statements made by persons to the Election Commission.—No statement made by a person in the course of giving evidence before the Election Commission shall subject him to, or be used against him in, any civil or criminal proceeding except a prosecution for giving false evidence by such statement:
Provided that the statement—
(a) is made in reply to a question which he is required by the Commission to answer, or
(b) is relevant to the subject-matter of the inquiry.
146 B. Procedure to be followed by the Election Commission.—The Election Commission shall have the power to regulate its own procedure (including the fixing of places and times of its sittings and deciding whether to sit in public or in private).
146C. Protection of action taken in good faith.—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Commission or any person acting under the direction of the Commission in respect of anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of the foregoing provisions of this Chapter or of any order made there under or in respect of the tendering of any opinion by the Commission to the President or, as the case may be, to the Governor or in respect of the publication, by or under the authority of the Commission of any such opinion, paper or proceedings.